If you plan to arrive early, we can arrange for an additional day of birding near Arusha at the famous Lark Plains, where in addition to the incredibly range restricted Beesley’s Lark we can see a variety of other larks and nice birds. Let us know if this additional day of birding is of interest to you, and we can discuss making arrangements. Night in Arusha.

International flights typically arrive into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) in the morning or mid-day. We will arrange transport to our comfortable lodge (Mount Meru Game Lodge is among the finest in the area) just a short drive from the airport, where you can relax for the remainder of day and adjust to the time. Typically there is a nice array of birds right around the lodge grounds where most guests prefer to spend the day resting after the long flight and enjoying the birds in the garden and surrounds. Or, if you’re feeling energetic we can arrange a coffee tour, or a visit to nearby Lake Duluti. We’ll meet for a Welcome Dinner tonight at 530pm, the first official time the group will gather, at the lodge restaurant. Night in Arusha.

A rather small national park but chock full of birds, Arusha National Park is located right close to our lodging, and offers a good amount of big game and fantastic birding too. Sitting astride Mount Meru, a volcano reaching heights of 15,000 feet above sea level, and with alkaline lakes and forest and open grasslands, a remarkable variety of birds and wildlife are seen here, as get going, right out of the shoot. As we watch for Masai giraffes, Black-and-white Colobus monkeys, or perhaps a Flap-necked Chameleon, we should hear and/or see Moustached Grass-Warbler, Hartlaub’s Turacos, Blacksmith Lapwings, several cisticolas and sunbirds and maybe even a gang of Retz’s Helmetshrike.

After breakfast we depart for Tarangire National Park, a drive which should take about 2.5 hours. Along the way we’ll begin to see more animals and birds but before making many stops, we’ll try and cover some ground to get to the park entrance where things really begin to heat up bird-wise. The park hosts near to 550 species, has an incredibly high density of elephants, and also is home to a large number of giant Baobab trees. The latter can be thousands of years old with trunks over 35 feet in diameter! We’ll drink in these sights with our eyes, while also keeping watch for endemic Ashy Starlings, flocks of little Yellow-collared Lovebirds, and much more.

With a full day to explore the park, we’ll set out early with goal of taking in our picnic lunch at the Silale Swamp. Many are the birds and mammals we might see today, with both lions and leopards among the possibilities. The birding will be robust, with Common Ostrich likely, and birds like Black-faced Sandgrouse, Pygmy Falcon, and Double-banded Courser possible, and once we’re at the swamp we should see Knob-billed Duck, Saddle-billed Stork, and maybe even a Lesser Moorhen.

As we make our way north towards the Serengeti, we deepen our experience in Tarangire with a stop for one night on Lake Eyasi. Here we soak up the sights from a marvelous lodge at the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We’ll break up the three-hour drive there with stops for birds and animals while being sure to try and arrive with ample time to enjoy the views of the Rift Valley and maybe take a dip in the pool. This area is also home to the indigenous Hadzabe bushmen and the Datoga tribe and we’ll visit with them, learning about their remarkable history, culture and present-day. Night at Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge.

Today we move yet further north, and enter the remote, unfenced wilds of the Ndutu region where the Ngorongoro Conservation Area meets the southern reaches of Serengeti National Park. Adding to the allure of this incredible area, we will not be a typical lodge but instead take our lodging for the next two nights is at mobile tented camps. In contrast to some of the permanent tent camps we’ll stay at elsewhere, these mobile tent camps are set up to try and maximize our chance at seeing wildlife spectacles. We’ll be here at a time when wildebeest are often calving, and we could see young being born, or even the onset of a migration event.

We’ll continue to enjoy and explore the magnificent Ndutu. In the region there are six species of cats, including lion, leopard, cheetah, serval, caracal, and African wild cat. The larger cats are often attracted by all the wildebeest. Cats are furtive and unpredictable but we’ll do our best, and are likely to connect with some of them. As we seek them we should bump into birds like Gray Kestrel, Southern Ground Hornbill, flocks of Magpie Shrikes, Swahili Sparrow, and more. Night at Intimate Places Tented Camp.

Leisurely working our way north, we’ll take our time birding our way through the herds and the endless plains, until we reach the Central Region, including the Seronera River Valley. Year-round the river here provides water for wildlife, and we’ll be present just at the beginning of peak season as animals move north through the area. It is another hotspot for cats, and a strong area for Cheetah, while the ancient scattered trees along the river are great shade trees and cover for Leopard. The dramatic rock outcroppings in the area, called kopjes, break up the horizon and can be a good resting place for Lions.

With a full day to explore Seronera, we’ll aim to try and locate big cats and maximize our time with any we find. Along the way we should see plenty of birds, big and small. Wetland areas host Black Crake, Black-headed Heron and other widespread African species while the grassy plains offer us a handful of cisticolas, Common Ostrich and even chances at Secretarybird and potentially a trio of courser species: Temminck’s, Three-banded and Double-banded. Night at Baobab Tented Camp.

Leaving the Serengeti is never easy, and we’ll likely take our time doing so. It is one of the most spectacular places on Earth, but leaving there to visit one of the most otherworldly spots on the planet makes it easier. The Ngorongoro Crater is almost like stepping back in time to another era or even visiting a whole other world. We move today from one wildlife mecca to another, and we’ll enjoy it every step of the way. Night at Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge.

Voted one of The Seven Natural Wonders of the Africa, it is the world’s largest intact, inactive and unfilled volcanic caldera and it brims full with wildlife. The elephants here are among the biggest on Earth, and the crater is perhaps the best place to see the world’s heaviest flying bird, the Kori Bustard. We’ll keep an eye out for Black Rhino, and birds like Rosy-throated Longclaw and Fischer’s Sparrow-Larks, while we enjoy the many Grant’s Gazelles and abundant wildlife. The crater is 100 square miles and we will crisscross it thoroughly, and after a full day enjoying the Jurassic Park-like scene there, we will make our way just outside it to retire for the night. Night at Kudu Lodge.

Today is a travel day as we make our drive (about 3.5 hours) back from the crater area to Arusha. We will, however, do some birding along the way, stopping by Lake Manyara for some waterbirds and then enjoying garden birds around our lodge in Arusha. We’ll enjoy a final farewell dinner together before we bid our farewells. Those that care to, can forego dinner and fly out this night. Others may prefer to remain for another night at Mount Meru Game Lodge.